Walks
Walks around Greenlooms Cottage
As we’re in the middle of the countryside, there is a good walk to be had in any direction from Greenlooms Cottage. But we do have a few favourites, such as a walk along the River Gowy to Hockenhull Platts, where there are old pack horse bridges. On the way you pass Walk Mill, which is a restored water mill with a café and shop selling excellent stone-ground flours.
We have Ordnance Survey maps (both pink and orange) for you to borrow.
Sandstone Trail
The Sandstone Trailpasses close to Greenlooms Cottage. It's a 34 mile (55km) walk which stretches from the old Iron Age forts of Frodsham in the north, to Whitchurch in the south. It cuts a large arc which embraces quite different types of countryside, such as the woods of Delamere Forest and the flatlands of Gresty's Waste.
The whole walk takes most people a few days, but the centre section - which follows the backbone of the Peckforton Hills - is just a mile or two from us, and makes an excellent walk in its own right. The section from Beeston Castle to the Iron Age settlement at Maiden Castle gives wonderful views out across the Cheshire Plain toward the Welsh Hills. Sometimes you can catch an inkling of what it must have been like for the natives when the Roman machine took over the land - the Roman fort at Ffrith must have seemed all too close to Peckforton.
And of course the Pheasant Inn makes an excellent stop for lunch!
Walks in Chester
The walls of the Roman city make a very pleasing promenade, presenting the river and city in turn. The river itself is lovely to walk by - you can walk all the way from the racecourse to Earl’s Eye, where the river enters the city proper. Rowing boats for hire and river cruises swarm in the summer, making it a lively part of the city.
It’s hard to think that Chester was once the main port of the far-flung edge of the Roman Empire, possibly intended to be the launching point for a campaign into Ireland. There are plenty of quiet back streets in the city that make for pleasant explorations, while Telford’s Shropshire Union Canal lets you see the city from a different angle, as it twists and turns toward the Dee.
Crocky Trail
Fantastic fun for you and your family (if you feel fit). click here.